There's No Place Like Home Elixir Bottle

I just love all things Steampunk and with a Gothic decay look, so I had to make a little elixir bottle.I also love cairn terriers (I have 4), so with a little terrier statue in hand I decided to include the terrier head (I would cast) on the elixir bottle.Who is the most famous cairn terrier? Toto, of course. So I decided to call my Gothic decayed elixir bottle "There's no place like home elixir". I had already made molds of a key, lock cover, compass and a globe, so I would cast those to include.

Directions:
Make a mold of the dog. This dog was from the dollar store and painted ugly.

Make casts of dog and other embellishments. I had already made molds of a key, lock cover, compass and a globe, so I cast those too.

Mix according to directions.

I added dye to the mixture, if you do that make sure to add the dye to part A before you mix the two together.

The resin mold waiting to cure.

These are my resin pieces that I will use on the bottle.

The one center bottom came out rather cool. There was not enough resin to fill the mold and it came out all broken looking. I really liked this look.

You will also need your tissue paper, white glue and a brush. I ended up using a much smaller brush than the one pictured.

Take your bottle, it can be glass, ceramic or whatever and begin gluing wrinkled up tissue paper on the surface.
I used white glue and a medium sized paint brush.

When you finish gluing the tissue paper all over the surface, let it dry completely.

The next step is painting and you want that on dry tissue paper.

You can even glue a single layer over the top of the bottle and then punch in the middle and glue the edges of the tissue paper inside the lid. Do it in a single layer, too think and the cork won't fit.

The tissue paper gives a nice surface for the paint to be applied. If we paint directly on the glass, the paint may flake off and we can't have that!

Next decided on the layout of your embellishments ( your resin pieces) and glue those down suing E6000.

Also use your label make and punch out any text you want to include. Glue that down at this stage too.

You are going to use 4 colors of paint next; black, burnt umber, burnt sienna and metallic copper. The copper is last and done after everything dries so I didn't squirt any out (it would dry up before I would get a chance to use it).

You will paint from darkest to lightest.
Start with Black and paint everything.

Try not to add too much water to the paint because you are painting over tissue paper and too much water can cause it to tear.

One layer of black

Paint over your embellishments. I know this is hard, but the black will be the shadows. I don't have to get it in every nook and cranny since I cast this piece with some black dye in the resin.

After the black dries you will go back over it with the burnt umber and then burnt sienna. Use a dry brush technique- no water. Even dab off extra paint in a paper towel. You want to just lightly brush the surface with the paint. Don't try to get into the deep areas at all. This is the first and second layer of highlights. If you paint it too much, you can always back up a step and put more black, wait for it to dry and then try again. Acrylic paint dries very quick so this go quickly. I made this whole project in just a few hours.

Make sure to let each layer dry completely, if not your colors will get muddy and blend all together. That is not the look we want. We want to see each separate color.

Label maker saying with the paint.

Another side.

These have the first 3 layers of paint on.

Last stage, add a dry brush of the metallic copper to highlight special areas.

This makes the lettering really pop and anything you want to emphasis.

The finished piece. The photos do not serve it justice. This piece rocks... now what else can I do this effect to? Hmmm.

I create because it is something that is necessary of me, such as breathing.
I have a BFA in Fine Arts and a Masters degree in Art History. By day I am a mild mannered (ok not so mild) information technology trainer and by night I am an artist. I create art in numerous areas from crafts to oil portraits.